Resources for Publishers and Literary Agencies

 

The Diversity in Publishing Partnership is a specifically designed partnership to bring the latest in Diversity and Inclusion best-practice to publishers and literary agencies and discuss how we can together develop and share resources and create a better environment for writers and colleagues which celebrates and encourages diverse talent and voices in publishing. 

 

What the Partnership wants to demonstrate is that diversity and inclusion practices are an amazing way to better relate to more people, more cultures, more parts of our society, and unlock more stories. The Diversity in Publishing Partnership is an Arts Council England funded project which was set up in July 2023 and is in many ways just at the start of its journey. All the resources are co-created with a vast number of collaborators within the publishing industry and Diversity & Inclusion Consultancies, with work ongoing on how we can make publishing more inclusive.

 

Workshops and Training

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1) Embedding Inclusive Cultures - A Virtual Workshop by HSM Advisory

 

This virtual workshop should take no more than 45 minutes and can be accessed at any time. It is the first in a series of workshops and initiatives and led by Diversity & Inclusion Consultancy, HSM Advisory. The workshop originally took place in September 2023 and was developed into a virtual workshop, made available to all publishers and literary agencies looking to understand the latest in inclusive practices to champion diversity. The session and the creation of the virtual workshop has been funded by the Arts Council England. 

The Workshop can be accessed here. Password obtained by clicking here.

 

2) Virtual Hackathon - How to Introduce More Inclusive Cultures into Publishing

 

A hackathon is an event where people come together to collaborate in order to solve a problem or identify new opportunities. To understand more about how we can use the 5 Levers described by HSM Advisory in the above Virtual Workshop to embed inclusive culture specific to publishing, we are running the below Virtual Hackathon to come up with ideas and suggestions. We will then collate all the different thoughts and inputs and put together an action plan on what we can do to drive inclusion forward. 

The Hackathon can be accessed here. Password obtained using the same link as accessing the Virtual Workshop above here.

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3) Next Workshop - June 2024: The next workshop will take place in June 2024 focus on the Long-Term Actions Publishers & Literary Agencies can take and start implementing to encourage diversity. The workshop will be led by Sula Graham Consulting and Indie Novella, who are generating a series of lessons learned from focus groups and confidential key informant interviews with an array of stakeholders in publishing. We are constantly looking for publishers and literary agents to be part of these discussions and share your thoughts on what more can be done to promote diversity in publishing. To be part of this discussion please email Damien at info@indienovella.co.uk and to sign up for the workshop click here (we will email you when the date is confirmed).

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Additional Resources for Publishers to Share with Writers

 

One of the most successful ways of championing diversity is simply by sharing information. As such, the Diversity in Publishing Partnership recommends the following resources for publishers, agents, and to be shared with writers:

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1) Turning the Page - Understanding Cultural Diversity in Fiction: 

Cultural appropriation. Authenticity of voice. Stereotyping. Diversity. All issues that the publishing industry is currently grappling with. Author Vaseem Khan presents some practical guidance in tackling these topics, based on research funded by the UK Arts Council, and featuring advice from writers, readers, and a host of industry professionals. Project partners included Hachette UK, the Society of Authors, the Crime Writers Association, Spread the Word, and A.M. Heath Literary Agents. Please see below.

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2) The Indie Novella Writing Course - with Watson, Little Literary Agency

To promote a greater diversity in publishing and champion diverse and authentic voices we need to level the playing field and make high quality writing resources available to all authors for free. The Indie Novella Writing Course runs three times a year (and is available in self-study form) and includes advice and resources from publishers and literary agents all designed to encourage and empower writers, enabling them to take their work to the next level. The Indie Novella Writing Course is also Arts Council Funded and has been designed to promote diversity by removing the financial barriers to accessing the information and support needed to be published or find an agent. Please do share with your networks and authors who are looking for support.

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How to Get More Involved

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Take part in Focus Groups and Key Informant Interviews:

We are convening focus groups with underrepresented communities and key informant interviews with those in the publishing industry so we can collectively understand the current barriers to inclusivity in publishing. This work will be led by Sula Graham Consulting, an experienced I&D consultant with specific experience in convening and facilitating educational sessions with disadvantaged and marginalised groups. Diversity and inclusion interviews and focus groups offer an opportunity to gather valuable information on the issues and challenges facing diverse talent in an organisation or industry.Insights gathered from a representative sample of people across an organisation/industry can inform D&I priorities. We would really appreciate your input and thoughts on how we are doing, what we could be doing better, and what initiatives you would like to see done to make publishing inclusive and able to promote more diverse voices. To be part of this discussion please email Damien at info@indienovella.co.uk.

 

Create Educational Content and Resources for Underrepresented Authors:

The Indie Novella Writing Course is also looking for more publishers and literary agents to support the Diversity in Publishing Partership create additional educational content and material for underrepresented authors. This is an incredibly valuable way to promote diversity in publishing as by developing more resources, be it tutorials regarding how publishing works behind-the-scenes or interviews with editors on genre fiction, we can demystify publishing for underrepresented authors and enable them to understand what is needed to publish their work. To participate, please contact Damien at info@indienovella.co.uk.

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